Who Hurt You?
by Dancingqueen4Life
Summary: Clint is sent to kill the Black Widow, but when he finally finds her, not everything is what he'd expected. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**I got this idea from a picture on the Fuck Yeah Hawkeye Black Widow page on Tumblr. It was originally posted (as far as I've found) by conical-tipi. Go give it a look if you get a chance.  
Basically, Clint is sent to kill the Black Widow but when he finds her, she ends up being just a child, and he refuses to kill her. Cue over protective Clint.**

* * *

Clint kneeled over the body in the alley, not minding if the blood got on his uniform. He'd spent three weeks hunting the Black Widow and this was the 4th body he'd found. Without a picture to go on- thank you, SHIELD- he needed to learn everything about her that he could from the bodies. He was just about to stand up and go back to the hotel SHIELD put him up in when he heard a gun cock behind him.  
"Are you the one they sent to kill me?" A quiet voice asked from behind him.  
Clint slowly turned around and froze momentarily. It wasn't the gun pointed at his forehead, or the fact that the person holding the gun was covered in blood, some fresh, some looking days old. No, what made him pause was that the girl looked to be about 12 or so.  
Clint set his bow on the ground and held his hands up in front of him. "I'm not here to kill you." He said calmly. "My name's Clint, and I'd like to help you."  
The girl laughed dryly. "I don't need your help. I don't need anybody's help."  
"What's your name?"  
"Natalia."  
"Natalia, please, let me help you."  
Natalia pressed the gun firmly against Clint's forehead. "I said I don't need help."  
"Maybe not. But my only other option is to kill you, and I don't want to do that."  
"Why?" She asked as confusion flooded her eyes, but her grip on the gun didn't loosen.  
"I don't like killing children."  
"So you were sent to kill me." She said.  
"I was. But I'm not going to."  
"You can do that?" She asked as if that was a foreign concept to her.  
"Sure." Clint said with a shrug.  
Natalia looked at him skeptically. "Won't you be punished?"  
"Nothing too bad."  
They slipped into silence and just looked at each other. After a moment, Clint reached up slowly and flipped the safety back on the gun. Natalia's confused look said everything she wasn't.  
"You won't kill me, Natalia. But if it'll make you feel better, you can keep pointing that at me."  
Natalia nodded, and a lock of hair fell into her face. Clint slowly reached up again and tucked it behind her ear, and the fear that flickered through her eyes at the contact made her look even younger.  
"How old are you, Natalia?"  
"I don't know." She murmured.  
"What do you mean?"  
"They never told me."  
"Who is they, Natalia?"  
"The Red Room."  
"Are they watching you right now?"  
Natalia shook her head. "I ran away last year." Suddenly, the hand holding the gun started shaking. "If Ivan finds me, he'll kill me."  
Clint easily took the gun from her and stood up. "Then let's go."  
"Where?"  
"Back to my hotel. I'll call in for extraction tonight, and we should be out tomorrow."  
Clint turned and started walking away, but he turned back around when he noticed that Natalia wasn't following him. "I won't hurt you, Natalia. I don't know what happened to you, what they did to you. But I promise that I won't intentionally hurt you."  
Natalia nodded and took a slow step forward. As soon as she put her weight on her right foot though, she stumbled and would have fallen face first in a puddle of blood if Clint hadn't caught her in time.  
"What happened?"  
"I hurt my foot yesterday."  
Clint nodded before he shifts his weight and pulled Natalia into his arms. Then he turned and started walking away, and Natalia looked over his shoulder at the body she'd left in the alley.  
"If you let the Red Room, why are you still killing?" Clint asked quietly as they turned down another alley in order to avoid the major streets of Moscow.  
"I need money." She replied quietly.  
"So I'm assuming your parents are gone?" He asked gently.  
"They killed them before they took me."  
Clint nodded and they continued walking. "How old do you feel?" He finally asked.  
"What?"  
"You said you don't know how old you are. So how old do you feel? Older than 10?"  
"I guess. Younger than 15 though. Maybe."  
"That gives us something."  
Clint entered a slightly rundown building and carried Natalia up the stairs until they arrived on the roof. Clint walked to the edge and set Natalia down. He reached into his quiver and pulled out a grappling arrow and shot it at the roof across the alley from them. When he was done, he collapsed his bow and turned back to Natalia to lift her up again.

"It would be a good idea to hold on tightly." He said and Natalia nodded and wrapped her arms and legs around him, on the verge of painful.  
Clint jumped off the roof and seconds later, they were on the other roof. Clint took the arrow tip out of the wall before he carried Natalia to the door that led inside and carried her down the stairs and through another door until he was standing in front of a hotel room door, which he opened and carried Natalia into. He walked into the bathroom and set her down on the counter, doing his best to avoid getting blood from the bottoms of her feet onto the hotel carpet. He dropped his quiver just outside the bathroom and knelt down in front of Natalia. He gently prodded her ankle as he searched for broken bones.  
"I think you broke something, but I can't be sure until you get an x-ray. But I can wrap it for tonight and we can get it looked at tomorrow."  
Natalia nodded and looked around the bathroom. It was a typical bathroom for a hotel, and suddenly Natalia wanted a shower.  
"Do you want me to wait to wrap your ankle until you can get some of this dirt and blood off?" Clint asked.  
Natalia nodded. "Please."  
Clint stood and helped Natalia off the counter. "Ok. While you're in the shower, I'll go out and get you some new clothes, ok? You can't wear those anymore."  
Natalia nodded and started getting undressed. Clint left the bathroom and picked up his bow and quiver and took them to the bed. Then he turned and walked out of the hotel room and out of the hotel. There was a store not too far away, and he made his way there. When he arrived he went to the children's clothing department and got a couple outfits along with some pajamas. He was guessing on Natalia's size, but he figured he was close enough that it didn't matter. Then he made his way to the shoe department, but ended up just walking away since guessing shoe size and preference was trickier. After he paid for the clothes, Clint made his way to a drugstore and grabbed some supplies he figured they'd need, then to a nearby restaurant and got some food for them to eat.

When he returned to the hotel, Natalia was still in the bathroom. "Natalia, I'm leaving a bag with some clothes outside the bathroom door for you, ok?"  
"Thank you." Natalia said from the other side of the door, and while Clint took the food out of the bag Natalia opened the door and grabbed the bag with the clothes. When she reemerged, she set the extra clothes on the floor and walked over to Clint.  
"I got some food." He said as he gestured for her to sit on the bed. When she was seated, Clint handed her a plate and she began to eat. While she was eating, Clint sat behind her and took out a brush from on e of the bags and started brushing her hair.  
Natalia had stiffened when she could no longer see him, but when she felt the tug of the brush in her hair, she relaxed. "You know how to braid?" She asked when she felt him start twisting strands of her hair together.  
"Yeah. I picked up a few things growing up."  
Natalia silently finished her dinner while Clint finished braiding her hair. When he was done, he grabbed his own plate and began eating while Natalia watched him with her bright green eyes. When he was done eating, Clint reached back into the bag and pulled out a pastry.  
"What's that?" Natalia asked as she looked at it with confusion.  
"Seriously?"  
"What?"  
"You live in Russia, and you don't know what baklava is?"  
"_That's_ baklava?"  
"Yeah."  
"They weren't really big on giving us treats."  
"Oh." Clint said, suddenly feeling stupid.  
Natalia shrugged and took the pastry Clint handed to her. Clint watched as she ate, and couldn't help but smile when she enjoyed it. He finished his own and stood up.  
"I'm going to shower, ok? You'll be ok until I'm done?"  
"Yeah."  
"Ok. And when I'm done, we'll take care of your ankle."  
Natalia nodded and watched as he went into the bathroom. When he came out 7 minutes later, he was wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt that hugged his muscles. He grabbed the bag from the drugstore and sat on the bed next to Natalia.

She watched as he took out a bottle of painkillers and went through the process of opening it before he handed two to her.  
"These should help a little bit." He said with a smile.  
Natalia took them and the water he offered and swallowed them. Clint pulled out some bandages and began wrapping her ankle for her. When he was done, he grabbed some ice from the ice bucket he'd set on the nightstand and wrapped it in a towel before he set it on her ankle and set her ankle on a couple pillows.  
"We'll leave it on there for a little bit, ok?"  
Natalia nodded and watched as Clint pulled out his cell phone and stepped onto the balcony. She could hear him talking to someone, but she couldn't make out much of what he was saying. When he came back inside, he gave her a smile and took the ice off her ankle.  
"Who was that?"  
"My handler. You'll meet him sometime tomorrow."  
"Is he coming here?"  
"No, he's sending in another agent and then we're flying back to base."  
"Did you tell him about me?"  
"Kind of."  
Natalia nodded and thought about her next question for a moment. "What happens to me after we get there?" She asked quietly.  
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I've never brought a target in. But they'll probably take you to medical and run some tests. Then assuming everything's ok, they'll probably find someone for you to live with."  
"What happens to you?"  
"I'll probably get put on probation, at least for a little while. I'll end up training junior agents. But I'll be back in the field eventually."  
"Really?"  
"This is the first time I've disobeyed their orders. It's the first time I've ever wanted to."  
Natalia nodded and tried not to think about what would happen if his organization decided to send her back.  
"Come on, get some sleep."  
"Don't you need to sleep too?"  
"I slept last night. I can keep watch." Clint said as he sat down in one of the armchairs in the room. Natalia watched him for a moment before she shifted on the bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Come on, Natalia." Clint murmured. "Time to wake up."  
Natalia's eyes snapped open and she sat upright, looking around in confusion before her eyes landed on Clint sitting next to her.  
"Come on, time to go."  
Natalia nodded and sat up. Clint handed her the bag with clothes and she picked a pair of pants and a t-shirt and walked into the bathroom to change. When she came out she sat down and let Clint look at her ankle again. When he was done, he redid her braid and helped her to her feet.  
"Alright, here's what's going to happen." Clint said. "There's a store we can go to and get you some shoes, and then we're gonna go meet the agent my handler's sending in."  
"Ok."  
"But when we go out, I'm gonna need you to pretend to be my daughter, ok?"  
"Why?"  
"Just so we don't raise any suspicion." Clint said.  
Natalia nodded and wrapped her arms around Clint's neck as he pulled her into his arms. He grabbed his backpack, which she assumed held his weapons and both of their clothes.  
"Then let's go." He said with a smile.

They left through the back door of the hotel and walked to the store Clint had been in the day before. They walked to the shoe department where Natalia found a pair of tennis shoes and sandals she liked. Clint bought both of them for her and managed to get the sandals on over her wrapped ankle. When they were done, Clint carried Natalia out of the store to where a black SUV was waiting for them.  
"Don't worry, Natalia." Clint said as the driver's door opened and a man stepped out. "This is Agent Jackson, he's gonna drive us to the plane we're taking out of here."  
Natalia nodded and Clint set her down in the backseat and watched as she slid over.  
"Who's that?" Jackson asked.  
"Someone who needs help." Clint replied before he got in the backseat beside Natalia.  
"Clint?" She whispered.  
"Yes?"  
"Can we drive by somewhere before we leave?"  
"It depends."  
"I've never seen St. Basil's Cathedral." She whispered.  
Clint smiled at her. "I think we can arrange something Clint said."  
"Jackson, let's take a detour, ok?"  
The agent agreed and 15 minutes later, they were driving slowly by the cathedral. Clint pulled Natalia onto his lap so she could see out the window better, and the amazement written on her face was enough to make Clint smile and hug her tightly. When they'd passed the cathedral, Natalia didn't move to leave Clint's lap, so he held her for the rest of the drive to the small air field where a quintet was waiting for them.  
"You coming home yet?" Clint asked the agent as they pulled up.  
"Not for another three months."  
Clint nodded and pushed open the door. He got out and turned back to lift Natalia out and he carried her to the plane. Just as they stepped inside, he felt her tense in his arms.  
"Are you ok?" he asked quietly.  
"I've never been in a plane before." She answered.  
Clint smiled. "Don't worry. I'm a very good pilot."  
"You're flying?" She asked in surprise.  
"Yeah. We don't really have many people stationed here."  
Natalia nodded in understanding as Clint set her down.  
"Do you want to sit back here or up with me?"  
"Can I sit up there?" She asked.  
"Of course. You can be copilot."  
Natalia nodded and smiled up at him. Clint helped her into the copilot seat and buckled her in before he sat down in his own seat and started the jet.  
"You ready?" He asked.  
Natalia sighed and nodded. "Yeah." She whispered.  
"You'll be able to come back some day." He told her quietly. "Whatever happens when we get there, you can come back."  
Natalia nodded and turned to look out the window. Clint sighed quietly as the plane took off, wondering what exactly he was getting himself into.

* * *

"We're about 5 minutes out, Natalia." Clint said, and the sudden noise pulled her from the slumber she'd drifted into.  
Natalia sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Where is your base?" She asked.  
"New York." Clint answered before he spoke to someone on the other side of his headset.  
Natalia looked out the window and let out a quiet shriek.  
"Natalia? What's wrong?"  
"We're landing on a building?"  
"Yeah. It's a big building though." Clint said as the plane touched down.

He got out of his seat and helped Natalia unbuckle herself before he pulled her out of her seat. He set her on the floor of the plane and knelt in front of her.  
"Alright, Natalia. From now on, I can't promise what will happen, because I honestly don't know. I do know that my handler will probably be annoyed at first, but he'll give me a chance to explain everything."  
"Where do I go?"  
"I don't know right now. But I'll go as far as I can with you, ok? But if we get separated, I'll do my best to come find you, ok?"  
Natalia sighed and nodded. "Are they going to kill me?"  
"I don't think so. But if something scares you, you have my full permission to fight back, ok?"  
Natalia nodded and suddenly wrapped her arms around Clint's neck in a tight hug. "Thank you." She whispered.  
Clint pulled back and smiled at her. "You ready?"  
Natalia nodded and Clint stood up and lifted her onto his hip. They walked to the back of the plane, and Clint pushed a button that had the door opening in front of them. Clint reached over and grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Then he stepped off the plane and started walking toward a man in a suit with a pair of sunglasses over his eyes.

"Coulson." Clint greeted the man with a head nod. Natalia looked at him and she could tell that he was looking at her through his sunglasses.  
"Barton." Coulson replied. "And who is this?"  
Clint sighed and Natalia tried to make herself disappear. "This is Natalia."  
"And you brought a random girl back to base because..."  
"She's your Black Widow." Clint replied quietly.  
Even with the sunglasses, it was easy to see that he was shocked. "What?"  
"She's the killer you sent me after."  
"Do you speak English?" Coulson asked Natalia suddenly.  
"Yes." She replied quietly.  
Coulson nodded and looked her over once. His eyes stayed on her ankle as he took in the bandage. "Get her to medical. Have them give her a thorough check up. Then get your ass to debrief."  
Clint nodded and started walking into the building. Natalia tried to keep track of the different hallways and stairwells he took her through, just in case she needed to escape later, but she lost count after a while. Finally, they came to a pair of metal double doors, and Clint paused.

"This is medical. I hate to tell you, but they're gonna poke and prod at you."  
"I'm used to it." She murmured.  
Clint nodded and pushed open the doors. Instantly, a doctor approached.  
"Agent Barton, I must say, it's a surprise to see you here."  
"I'm not here for me." He replied, and Natalia could tell by his stance that he trusted this man.  
"Oh, my apologies." The doctor said as he turned to Natalia.  
"Don't worry about it." She murmured.  
"What's wrong with her?" The doctor asked Clint, and Natalia was suddenly uncomfortable with the amount of people looking at her.  
"Clint." She whispered as her eyes flickered to each and every nurse and doctor looking at her.  
Clint looked at her for a second and nodded. The doctor must have also caught on, because he lead them to an empty room and shut the door.  
"So, what can I do for you?"  
"This is Natalia. I think she broke her ankle, and Coulson wants a full work up done."  
The doctor nodded and gestured for Clint to set her on the bed.

He gently removed her shoes, and Clint put them in his bag as he returned the small smile Natalia gave him.  
"My name is Doctor Peters, Natalia." He said gently as he unwrapped her ankle and took in the sight of her ankle. He gently prodded at it, and it surprised Clint to see that it already looked a lot better. "We'll get some x-rays done and see what that tells us. I'll also need to draw some blood."  
Clint nodded and turned to Natalia. "Are you ok for now? Or would you like me to stay?"  
"Umm, I think I'm ok." She murmured as she studiously ignored the needle the doctor was holding.  
Clint nodded and squeezed her shoulder before he left.

* * *

When Clint walked into the debriefing room, he wasn't surprised to find Coulson waiting for him.  
"I thought you were disobeying orders again." His handler said by way of greeting.  
"Sorry. I wanted to make sure she was ok."  
Coulson didn't reply, and Clint took that as his cue to sit down.  
"So, why isn't she dead?"  
"Are you kidding, Coulson? She's a kid, and not in the 'oh, you're five years younger than me' way. She's a little girl."  
"A little girl who's killed nearly a hundred people. How old is she anyway?"  
"She doesn't know."  
"What?"  
"I asked her, and she said the people in the Red Room had never told her or the other girls how old they were. She doesn't even know when her birthday is. Based on how she acts and what I saw, I'd guess she's maybe 11 or 12, but not much older than that."  
"Did she tell you anything about the Red Room?"  
"Nothing other than that she ran away last year. And before you say what I know you're going to say, just after she said that, she started shaking when she thought Ivan was watching her."  
Coulson sighed. "So then what happened?"  
"I took her to the hotel room and let her shower while I got her clothes and food. Then-"  
"Wait, you left her _alone?_"  
"Coulson, her ankle was broken. And I could tell that she didn't want to leave. I figured that out in the alley when she held a gun to my head for five minutes without pulling the trigger."  
Coulson just sighed and gestured for Clint to continue.  
"Anyway, when I got back, we ate- god, Coulson. The kid had never seen baklava before."  
"That's beside the point, Cilnt."  
"Whatever. Then I wrapped her ankle the best I could and iced it. That's when I called you for extraction. Then I told her to sleep, and I stayed up all night. In the morning, I took her to get some shoes because she was barefoot when I found her. She had blood caked on her feet, so I thought shoes would be a good thing for her to have."  
"And how did you pay for her clothes and whatnot? Is SHIELD going to get a bill in the mail?"  
"I used my own money, Coulson."  
Coulson was about to make a snide comment when he noticed how defeated Clint was.  
"What's going on in your head, Barton?" Coulson asked, turning from handler to friend.  
Clint sighed. "She's just a kid, Phil. She's a kid, and for a year, people have been paying her to kill adults twice her size. She- god. She looked just as scared as I felt when Barney ditched me outside the circus when I was 15. I know I should have followed through, but I just can't help but think that if someone had been there for me, things would be different, you know? And when I looked at her, all I saw was this broken little girl who needed a friend, and I decided that I'd be her friend."  
"Clint, Barney left you alone when you were 15, that was 10 years ago."  
"I know, Phil. But there are so many times during the last 10 years where I could have used a friend."  
Phil sighed. "Is she dangerous?"  
"I don't know. I could tell she had training, but I don't know how far it got."  
Phil nodded. "Alright, fine. I'll see what I can do."  
Clint nodded and stood up. He knew a dismissal when he saw one. He walked to the door and turned around again.  
"I know she could be a great asset for us, Phil. But I don't know if a kid needs to be immersed in an organization like SHIELD."  
Phil nodded and Clint left the room and headed back to medical.

* * *

As soon as he entered, he knew something was wrong. All the doctors were crowding around a single room, shoving each other as they tried to see what was happening in the morning. Clint hurried over, and once he recognized the room number from earlier, he grabbed a doctor by the scruff of his neck and threw him to the ground.  
"Don't you have lives to be saving?" He asked in a loud voice. Instantly, all the doctors turned and scurried away, giving Clint a clear view of what was happening.  
There were maybe 5 doctors in Natalia's room, although, Doctor Peters wasn't present, but then Clint remembered seeing his name on the OR board. The doctors were surrounding Natalia, each one trying to grab her, but she was too quick for them, even with her bad ankle. She had fear in her eyes which undoubtedly added to her strength.  
Clint opened the door and pulled the two closest doctors away from Natalia and shoved them out, followed by the other two. Clint turned around to grab the last one just in time to see Natalia grab his wrist and flip him to the ground, causing whatever was in his hand to shatter on the floor. The doctor landed on his face, and blood started pooling on the ground. Clint lifted him up and shoved him out of the room as well, making sure to close the door so he and Natalia were alone.  
Clint took a tentative step forward, and Natalia ran at him and punched his chest. Clint huffed in surprise, but managed to grab her wrists to stop her.  
"Natalia." Clint said softly. "Hey, Talia, it's just me."  
Natalia froze. "Clint?" She whimpered.  
"Hey there, Talia." He said gently.  
Instantly, Natalia collapsed and Clint caught her easily in his arms and carried her out the door and into another room, instructing one of the doctors to clean it up. He kicked the door closed behind him and set Natalia on the bed, but when she refused to let go of his shirt, Clint shifted and sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap so he could hold her. He could feel her shaking, so he rubbed gentle circles on her back and made soothing noises in her ear.  
When she'd finally calmed down, Natalia shifted and looked down at her hands.  
"I'm sorry." She murmured.  
"Don't be. Want to tell me what happened?"  
"Dr. Peters had to leave for surgery, but he said he'd be back soon. Then a doctor came in with a syringe and tried to put it in my arm. I don't know what was in it, but it looked like one of the drugs they gave me in the Red Room, so I grabbed it from him and threw it against the wall. That's when he had the others come in, and they tried holding me down, so I fought back. Then you walked in."  
Clint nodded. "Ok. Well, I did give you permission to fight back if something felt wrong, so you have nothing to worry about."  
Natalia nodded. "Did you get in trouble?"  
"Not really. I explained everything to Coulson and he said he'd try to figure something out."  
"Earlier, you said something about finding a family to adopt me?" She asked hesitantly.  
"I did."  
"Can that family be you?"  
Clint paused for a moment before he spoke. "Natalia." He sighed. "I'm glad you trust me enough to ask, but it wouldn't work."  
"Why? It worked yesterday."  
"I know. But I go on missions all the time, and you'd need someone to be home with you. Besides, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be around SHIELD. At least not right now."  
"But I don't know how to do anything else." Natalia said.  
"You're not even a proper teenager yet, Talia. Give it some time."  
"Talia?" She asked.  
"Sorry. It just kinda popped out."  
"I like it. No one has ever given me a nickname before."  
"Well, ok then. But still, I wouldn't be a good parent for you."  
Natalia sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "So you're going to forget me?"  
"No. Wherever you go, I'll keep in touch. And when you turn 18, if you still want to join, I'll personally train you and vouch for you."  
"Ok." Natalia murmured.  
Clint smiled when he looked down and found her eyelids slipping closed as sleep once again gripped her.

* * *

After Dr. Peters got out of surgery and had been filled in on what happened, he took Clint through Natalia's blood panel. She had some kind of enhancers in her body that made her heal faster than average people, which made sense given that the Red Room was known to experiment on its girls. Other than that though, her blood was clean; but Dr. Peters had also discovered that Natalia had been raped, although he couldn't say if it had been a repeat occurrence or not. All he knew was that it had happened about a month before Clint found her, given the amount of healing that had taken place in combination with her enhancers.

When Natalia woke up, Clint tried asking her about it, but she said she didn't remember.  
"I can't tell you very much about me, Clint. They liked to mess with my brain a lot. They took memories out and put random ones in. I can tell you what I remember, but I can't tell you what's real what isn't."  
Clint nodded and didn't push it.

At the end of the day, Coulson dropped in and was properly introduced to Natalia. As soon as he looked past the fact that she was the assassin that he'd spent months tracking, he was able to admit that she was a nice kid, even if she didn't remember the majority of her life.  
"Alright, let's talk about what happens now." Coulson said.  
"Happens with what?" Natalia asked.  
"Your living arrangement." Clint supplied.  
"Oh. Clint already said he wanted me away from SHIELD."  
"Yes, well, that won't really work. We need to keep an eye on you. But I do agree that Clint can't take care of you."  
"So then what happens?" Natalia asked.  
"Well, you need to be with someone who is in the country more times than not, someone who is actually capable of keeping you alive and whatnot."  
"Who's that?" Natalia asked  
Coulson sighed. "Me."  
Natalia looked at him in surprise. "You?"  
"Seriously, Phil?" Clint asked.  
"Yeah."  
"Fury was ok with that?"  
"He was once I explained he was the only other option."  
Clint nodded. "Fair point."  
"So that's it? You're my dad now?"  
"In a manner of speaking. It'll be a fairly quick process, since you're not technically an American. But we can fix that easily enough."  
Natalia nodded. "What do I call you?"  
"Whatever you want. Dad, Phil, Coulson. Whichever."  
Natalia nodded. "Ok."  
Clint hugged her. "See, Talia, I told you you'd be ok."  
Natalia nodded. "Oh. Do I need to change my name?"  
"Probably wouldn't hurt to Americanize at least." Phil said simply. "But you can keep your last name, or whatever version you decide on anyway."  
Natalia nodded and started thinking. Suddenly, she smiled.  
"What is it, Talia?" Clint asked.  
"Natasha. Natasha Romanoff." She said with a decisive voice and a smile. "That's my name."

* * *

**Wow, that kind of took off. Hopefully you guys liked it, and aren't annoyed with the length. I just didn't want to break it up, mainly because I didn't count on it ending up like this. I know the housing situation is kind of iffy, but whatever. It's fiction. Also, I know some of you are thinking that Natalia was too trusting of Clint, but remember, she's only 11 or so. So whatever programming the Red Room gave her when she was older didn't happen. So it makes sense- at least to me- that she would be able to trust people more easily. At least marginally anyway.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I got a lot of people asking me to continue this, so I thought I'd give it one more chapter, but honestly, it was never intended to be more than a one shot. Partly because I didn't think it would come across as it did in my head, but mostly because I have so many stories that I'm working on, and I start college in less than a month. So bear with me for the rest of my stories. I know I have a lot that I need to work on, and I'll get to them when I can. Thank you for your patience.**

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Clint was standing in a stall in the gun range with his bow drawn and dozens of arrows imbedded in the target in front of him. Not to mention the other targets in the range. Just as he released a shot, he heard the door open behind him, but he kept his focus in front of him as he grabbed another arrow.  
"So is this how it's gonna be?" A voice asked from behind him as he sent another arrow flying.  
Clint started reaching for another arrow, but he sighed and turned around and found Natasha staring at him from the door to the range.  
"You bring me here and then what? You dump me with someone else and run away as fast as you can? You did your bit of good so it's ok to pretend it didn't happen?" She asked.  
"Look, Talia-"  
"It's Natasha now, remember?" She interrupted.  
Clint sighed and set his bow down on the ledge and took his quiver off and set it next to the bow. He turned back around to find Natasha still staring at him, so he crouched down into the same position he'd been in when he first met her and held his arms open to her, gesturing for her to come forward.  
Natasha looked at him for a moment before she took a tentative step forward, followed by another until she ran the rest of the way to Clint and hurtled herself into his arms as she hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry, Tasha." Clint whispered as he hugged her.  
"What did I do wrong?" She asked in a small voice.  
Clint's heart broke at the tone of her voice. "You didn't do anything wrong, Tasha." Clint whispered as he pulled away and wiped a stray tear away with the pad of his thumb.  
"Then why did you disappear? I came in everyday with Phil and you were never here."  
Clint sighed again. "I was on a mission, Tash. I was sent out the day after you went home with Phil."  
"Your punishment?" She asked.  
Clint nodded. "It was a stakeout in the middle of nowhere. But I can't say more than that."  
Natasha nodded. "Phil says that whenever I ask him anything."  
Clint offered her a sad smile. "That's the life we live."  
"I know." She whispered, and it pained Clint to know that she was right.

"Wait a minute." He said after a moment. "Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?"  
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Phil decided it wasn't a good idea. So I do it all online. Although, _they_ taught me a lot, so everything is really easy."  
Clint looked at Natasha's eyes and brought his hand up to her cheek and tucked a piece of her red hair behind her ear.  
"I'm going to be honest with you, Natasha. I don't know what you want from me. I don't know how to interact with kids, even if you're not a normal kid. I'm not parent material either, so I don't know where that leaves us."  
Natasha returned his gaze and brought her own hand up to his cheek and used her index finger to gently trace his nose and cheeks. "I don't know how to be a kid. Phil bought me a bike, but I don't really see the point of it. I don't really know what I want you to be to me, but I know that without you, I'd still be in Russia killing people and saving the money I could while still trying not to starve. You saved my life, Clint, and I don't want you to run away from me."  
Clint smiled and grabbed Natasha's hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, smiling when she smiled. Clint released her hand and stood up and turned back to his bow and quiver. He started deconstructing his bow and he heard Natasha shift behind him. When he looked over his shoulder, he found her looking at the floor and fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist.  
"Hey, you want to give me a hand?" He asked.  
Natasha shrugged but nodded in agreement. "Sure."  
"Go ahead and grab all the arrows from the target and bring them over here." Clint said and Natasha nodded before she jumped over the ledge and ran down the range to the targets and began removing the arrows. When she was done she came back to where Clint was putting his quiver away in the special case that had been made for him in the range.  
"Here."  
"Thanks. Come on, help me organize them, and then we can go do something, ok?"  
Natasha nodded, and Clint started teaching her how to tell if they were reusable or not. It was fairly simple for the most part, but a couple times Natasha started to put one away, but Clint shook his head and nodded to the recycle pile for them to be taken apart and melted down and remade into new arrows.  
When they were done, Clint stood up and held his hand out to Natasha. She was about to take it when a look crossed her face and she suddenly jumped on him, landing squarely on his back. Clint laughed as he shifted slightly and hooked his arms under her knees and made his way to the door.  
"So where are we going?" Natasha asked.  
"Well, first we're going to find Phil and tell him you're with me. Then we'll see after that."  
Natasha nodded and leaned down slightly so that her chin was resting on Clint's shoulder.

They got a few looks as they walked trough the hallway, but they both ignored them, choosing not to dwell on the opinions of people that didn't matter. When they arrived at Phil's office, Clint knocked and opened the door. Phil was sitting at his desk staring down at a pile of paperwork, but he looked up when the door opened. Phil smiled as he watched Clint walk in with Natasha on his back.  
"Can I help you two?"  
"Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking Tasha out today." Clint said easily.  
Phil nodded. "I'm glad you managed to find him, Natasha." He said with a smile, earning a smile from Natasha.  
"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I don't really have plans, so do you want me to bring her back here or just take her to your place?"  
Phil shrugged. Whichever you're closer to, I guess. You have a key if you need it."  
Clint nodded and turned around. "See you later, Phil." Clint said as he stepped out of the office, and he heard Phil return the sentiment as they walked away.

"Do you want to stay on base or get out of here?" Clint asked.  
"Leave." Natasha said instantly.  
Clint smiled and nodded as he led them toward the doors. They stepped outside into the crisp autumn air, and Clint shivered slightly at the change in temperature.  
"Don't tell me that Hawkeye, famous sniper, is _cold_." Natasha teased.  
"Nope." Clint said as the arrived at his truck. He set Natasha down and pull doug his keys to unlock it. Natasha climbed in and crawled across to the passenger side as Clint got in behind her and closed the door before he started the car.  
"So." He said as he turned to Natasha. "What do you want to do?"  
"What is there to do? Usually I just sit around and do my school stuff and then I read."  
Clint chuckled and started driving out of the parking lot. Natasha looked out the window as Clint drove through New York, still slightly unused to the large city she found herself living in. When they pulled into a shopping center, Natasha turned to look at Clint in confusion.  
"Have you had a chance to go out with Phil and get what you need yet?"  
"I got some more clothes, but I probably need some stuff before it starts snowing."  
Clint nodded and opened the door, decidedly not commenting when Natasha insisted on climbing out after him. Clint held his hand out for her after he closed the door, and tried not to smile when she took it and held on tightly.  
"Alright," Clint said as they entered a department store. "What do you still need?"  
"I don't really know. I have a sweater, but I could probably use a heavy coat, right?"  
"Well, what kinds of stuff did you have in Russia?"  
Natasha didn't answer, but her silence told him everything he needed to know.  
"They didn't give you coats and things, did they?"  
Natasha shook her head and looked down at the floor. "They didn't give us anything that could be seen as nice."  
Clint crouched down in front of Natasha and used his fingers to bring her head up slightly. "Then I guess we need to get you a good coat, don't we?" He asked with a smile.  
Natasha nodded and a small smile crossed her face.  
Clint stood up and took Natasha's hand and led her to the shoe section. "What about boots?" He asked.  
"Huh?"  
"Rain boots? Do you have any?"  
"No. We just got some pants and shirts and stuff."  
Clint nodded. "Well, do you see any you like?"  
Natasha released Clint's hand and perused the selection, until she came upon a black pair with silver swirls. "I like these." She murmured and turned to Clint to see if her decision was ok.  
Clint nodded and picked them up and after he spoke to an employee he lead Natasha to a chair where he had her sit and wait for the lady to come back.  
"I'm gonna go look at some other shoes, ok? But I'll keep an eye on you."  
Natasha nodded and watched as he walked to a nearby table and started looking at shoes. When the lady reappeared, Clint was almost instantly by her side again, and when she stood up to walk around in the shoes, she turned to him.  
"They're a little big."  
Clint gestured for her to come closer, and he bent down and prodded at her toe for a moment. "They're fine. You want them to be a little big, especially because your feet are still growing."  
Natasha nodded and sat down to remove the shoes. While she put her shoes back on, Clint followed the employee to the counter and paid before he returned to Natasha and held his hand out for Natasha to take, and they entered the clothing department where Natasha instantly found a black coat with similar silver markings, along with a silver scarf that was among the softest thing she'd ever touched. Clint payed for everything before he led her into another section where he bought a fleece blanket.  
"You ready to leave?" He asked when they were done, and after Natasha nodded, they walked back to the truck and after they loaded everything into the back seat, they pulled out of the parking lot and Clint started driving to another part of the city.  
"You hungry?" He asked.  
Natasha glanced at the clock on the dashboard and nodded when she saw that it was nearly 5 pm, she nodded.  
Clint continued driving until he found a spot and pulled in and turned off the car. When Natasha got out of the car, she noticed that they were in front of a Russian restaurant. Clint held the door open and Natasha walked in and was surrounded by the scents that she'd nearly forgotten.  
"I didn't know this was here." She said quietly.  
Clint shrugged. "I'd remembered seeing it a few years ago ad figured I'd come back and check."  
Natasha nodded and followed Clint to the counter where she placed her order and stepped aside for Clint to do the same. After he'd paid, the woman handed them a bag with their orders in it and they went back to the truck.  
"Are we going to Phil's house?" Natasha asked as Clint started driving again.  
"Nope. We're gonna go eat somewhere else."  
Natasha nodded and watched as they left the city behind. A few minutes outside the city, Clint pulled over and turned off the car and gestured for Natasha to get out, and he reached into one of the bags and pulled out the blanket.  
"Where are we eating?" Natasha asked.  
"Up here." Clint said as he put the blanket and the food in the bed of the truck and reached back into the truck and pulled out the sweater Natasha had brought with her and helped her into it. Then he climbed into the bed and set up the blanket and the food and watched as Natasha climbed in and moved until she was leaning against his side.

"So," Clint said as he took a bite. "It's been 5 months. How are you doing?"  
Natasha sighed and poked at her food. "It's weird." She says quietly. "I feel confused most of the time."  
"About what?"  
"Just, I miss Russia. I know things were crappy for me there, but..."  
"But it's your home. I told you, Tasha, you're going to miss it. And you can go back someday."  
Natasha nodded. "I know."  
"What else is it?" Clint asked after she didn't say anything else.  
"I don't have any friends. I mean, I have you, and Phil too, I guess. But since I don't go to a real school, and I don't do anything outside of school work and reading, I haven't really met any other kids."  
"Does that bother you?" Clint asked.  
"I don't know."  
Clint nodded in understanding, and they were silent as they continued eating. The food wasn't the best they'd ever had, but it was enough to remind Natasha of home, and that was all she cared about.  
"And how are things with Phil?"  
"They're better."  
"Better than what?" Clint asked in confusion. "Sorry, but I wasn't able to contact anybody."  
Natasha nodded. "The first month wasn't great. I didn't really trust him, so it made things difficult. I didn't really get much sleep for a while, and it made me a little paranoid. Phil finally had to knock me out with some drugs and get me to medical. Dr. Peters kept me there for a few days and I was finally able to sleep, and after that it was better, but it was still weird."  
"Weird how?"  
"I just kept feeling like I was imposing on Phil. So I tried to make myself scarce, and that somehow turned into me not coming home from the park one night last month. Phil was so worried that he spent all night looking for me until he finally found me. I'd climbed into a tree, almost to the top, and fell asleep. When he finally got me down, he grounded me, and then he started working more normal hours, and that made it easier."  
Clint nodded and put the empty food boxes back in the bag.  
"So it's good now, right?"  
"I guess. It's still easiest with you, but I think that might always be the case. Phil encouraged me to find you today though. I was really upset yesterday, but I refused to tell him why. All I said was that you were the only one who would understand. That's when he told me that you'd just gotten back. Then I hugged him and went to my room."  
"You hugged him?" Clint asked.  
Natasha nodded. "It was the first time I hugged him, and I think it made him smile."  
Clint smiled down at her and reached out to pull her more tightly to his side. Natasha wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Clint." Natasha whispered.  
"For what?"  
"For today."  
Clint chuckled. "You're welcome. And I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings."  
Natasha shrugged. "It's ok. Just tell me when you leave from now on?"  
Clint smiled down at her and nodded. "Of course."  
They fell into silence again, until Clint looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 9 pm.  
"Come on, Tasha. Time to get you home."  
Natasha nodded and sat up as Clint picked up the blanket and the food and put it in the truck before he returned to where Natasha was and lifted her from the bed of the truck. They were halfway back to Phil's house when Clint looked over and saw that Natasha was asleep. When he pulled up, he noticed that Phil's SUV was in the driveway and one of the lights was on. As Clint was pulling Natasha from the truck, Phil came out and smiled when he saw them.  
"Need any help?" Phil whispered.  
"There's some bags in the back. One is trash from dinner and the rest are things for her."  
Phil nodded and went to the truck to get the bags out. "Her room is at the end of the hall." Phil called over his shoulder and Clint nodded in thanks as he carried Natasha into the house and down the hall where he found her bedroom. When he flipped on the lights, Natasha stirred and blinked her eyes open.  
"Clint?"  
"Hey, Tasha. I brought you home, ok?"  
"Mmmhmmm." Natasha said as she curled into his chest.  
"Come on, Tash. put your pajamas on, and you can go to bed, alright?"  
Natasha nodded and Clint set her down and left the room so she could change. Phil was in the living room looking through the things Clint had bought. In addition to the boots, coat, and scarf, Clint had also bought her some more jeans and shirts.  
"Did you use your money for this?" Phil asked when Clint walked in.  
"Yeah. Sorry, I know you want to do things with her, but the thought just occurred to me that it was getting colder."  
Phil shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I think she needed this, she's been really upset lately. I'll write you a check for all of this." Phil said as he stood up.  
Clint shook his head. "Don't bother. I've got enough squirreled away from my days before SHIELD."  
"Come on, Clint. Let me at least pay back a little."  
Clint shook his head. "Just," Clint sighed. "Let me see her every so often?"  
Phil smiled. "As much as she wants."  
Clint nodded and was about to speak again when he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around, he saw Natasha standing in the doorway in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a tank top.  
"Can you braid my hair before you go?" She asked Clint hopefully.  
"Of course." Clint said as he sat on the couch and gestured for her to sit in front of him on the floor. When he was finished they stood up and Clint leaned down to give her a hug.  
"Goodnight, Tasha." Clint murmured.  
"Goodnight, Clint." She replied. "Can we do this again?"  
"Of course. Feel free to find me on base too if you ever need to talk, ok?"  
Natasha nodded and smiled. She leaned in again for another hug, and Clint couldn't resist the urge to turn and kiss her temple softly.  
Natasha pulled away with a smile and kissed his cheek lightly before she stepped out of his embrace. Clint stood and made his way to the door where he waved to the both of them before he got in his truck.  
The last thing he saw before he turned off of Phil's street was Phil standing in his front door with Natasha on his hip, and both of them waving goodbye and goodnight.

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**There you go. I hope you guys liked this, and that it lived up to your expectations. I might write one more chapter before calling it quits, but I'm not sure.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


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